SBP Reserves Down to $11.7 Billion After Consecutive Drops

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by over $140 million on a weekly basis according to data issued by the central bank on Thursday.   According to the latest data released by the SBP, on December 27, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $11.711 billion, down $143 million compared to $11.854 billion on December 20. In a brief statement, the central bank said the decline in reserves was due to external debt repayments.  Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $16.409 billion, up 37 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks were recorded at $4.698 billion, up $179 million from $4.518 billion last week.  Last week, the reserves held by the central bank went down by $228 million to fall below the $12 billion mark.